Urgent Care :: HELP!!! i THINK she ate gravel!

[kc]

for some of you might have seen my posts about my turtle not eating for a while. i've tried all your suggestions and nothing seems to work. today i found a REALLY TINY piece of blue gravel on the bottom of my tank. i'm not sure if that's a piece that my turtle passed out or a little piece that was left in the tank when i removed the gravel a week ago. the piece is SO small, about the size of a dot that you draw with a pen. i decided to take my turtle to the vet soon but what can i do at the mean time? again, i am NOT SURE if my turtle ingested gravel. i rather to play safe than to ignore the situation. please help me.

[jenaero]

I wouldn't worry too much if it was really that small. Remove whatever you find and keep on a lookout for it. Mine both passed several large pieces of gravel over a few months after I'd removed it. Personally, I'd not rush off to the vet and run up unnecessary bills if you don't see any unusual symptoms. I'd say as long as he's eating/basking/acting normally, he's probably fine.

I'm not saying don't go to the vet. I know for some people they'd need to, to ease their mind so go if you must.

Seriously tho, the pieces my res passed were easily the size of one of the keys on your keyboard and they were fine. I can't imagine something so small as a few grains of sand would do any harm.

[kc]

if all she ingested was that tiny piece then i'm fine with it. i just think maybe that tiny piece passed out indicates that there are more larger piece in her stomach? i don't want to go to the vet. i know they are expensive. going to the vet is my last resort. my turlte is basking everyday and acting as normal but as i've mentioned in other posts, my turtle hasn't really been eating for about 6 weeks now, and she is not pooping either. my turtle is less than 2 years old and she is about 3 inches. i really don't want to go to the vet because i am really really busy with finaly exams and the vet is expensive. what should i do?

[jenaero]

Ok, now that's a different story. Not eating and not pooping could very well mean there's a blockage, possibly ingested gravel. If she truly hasn't eaten/pooped in that long, I'd get her to a vet asap. I hadn't been keeping up with all the posts as I've been gone for a couple of days.

Most vets will work out a payment plan for you if you can't afford to pay the entire bill at once. He'll most likely do some xrays to see if there's any foreign objects in there. Good luck, and keep us posted. Really it shouldn't wait any longer tho, finals or not.

[Hoooneylynn]

kc- I wouldnt make it your last resort... it could be too late. 6 weeks of not eating could mean her stomach might be full of gravel.. did you see that other thread? A woman lost her turtle.. it had eaten so much gravel that its stomach was full, no room for food. It died. I am not trying to scare you or be mean, but thats serious. Ask your family for help, or like jenaero said, beg them to set up a payment plan. Finals are very stressful... Honestly, I would rather fail a class than have my turt die, not saying yours will, but its something to think about.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Gosh jessica that sounds horrible,the turtles stomach was realy FULL of gravel? Wow,yeah sounds like you should take your turtle to a vet Kc.Im sure you can make way for an apointment.Like jessica said beg and beg if they refuse to treat your turtle because of money.Tell them that its serious and its very fatal,a vet would understand and work with you hopefully.

[steve]

It shouldn't be too expensive to get an x-ray to see what the damage is.

[Hoooneylynn]

yep just read this thread, its so sad, I was in tears

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2342

[xsavingsaturdayx]

yep just read this thread, its so sad, I was in tears

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2342

Oh my god,poor thing... i think we should use that topic as an example,so whenever someone has gravel in they're tank and refuses to remove it because they think that they're turtle will never eat it or because it looks pretty they can see what can happen if they fail to remove the gravel.

[Hoooneylynn]

I know, I've posted it twice already since I've read it in threads that were started about gravel, even though they are right above similar threads about gravel.

[kc]

okay i have booked an appointment on the 27th, 11am. lol this morning i woke up i saw her trying to bite the water that's been shooting out from the filter. it looked so funny. she's running up and down the basking area. she runs up and dives into the water and plays with rocks a bit and goes up the basking area and this whole thing just repeats. i dont' know where she got all her energy from 6 weeks without eating. going to see if the vet has any idea why she's not eating.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Sounds good, kc! I hope all goes well at the vet.

[Muirner]

Sounds like shes doing better, and that's a good thing to hear. Keep us updated.

[kc]

i just came back from the vet. my turltle is doing fine. the vet said he doesn't think my turtle ingested gravel. he suggests me to add more UVB and things should be fine. my turtle should starting eating soon.

also, for those of you whos turtle is not eating, here is what my vet suggested me to do:
50% beef broth and 50% V8 juice. put your turtle in there. the amount of juice should go about your turtle's lower edge of the shell. couple times a day and your turtle will get nutrient.

[Muirner]

beef broth? and V8? Well my two thoughts real quick on this are:
- Any meat should be a very very rare treat. i've never read that beef is good to give them. V8, mostly veggies right? This would work but it's thicker not sure if it'd absorb it.

My suggestion - Pedialite, and water. A 50/50 mix of it. Same level your vet said and a few times a day... This will restore vital nutriance and it's no thicker then water, thus it should absorb easily.

What do you have currently for UVB? You shouldnt need over 10%